Whether graduates of Central Missouri State University or University of Central Missouri,
our alumni have a long and loyal history with their Alma Mater. Continue your legacy by giving to the Band Development Account via the UCM Alumni
Foundation or to one of our many endowed scholarships.
Alumni wishing to stay connected with the UCM Band Program should text the word 'Alumni'
to 660-248-0496. You may also visit the UCM Alumni Band Webpage.
Opportunities for Alumni Engagement
Homecoming, October 15, 2022

Join alumni from the 1950s to this past year in cheering on the Mules, participating
in the homecoming parade, attending the high school parade competition awards ceremony,
cheering on the football team from the stands, and participating in our halftime show
(no worries, we will limit the marching!). Register with the alumni band board by clicking here and enjoy a few hours with fellow alumni and current students at Homecoming!
Alumni Band Concert, February 18, 2023

Rekindle relationships with colleagues old and new. This annual event brings alumni
back to the Warrensburg campus to have a few hours of fun and music making in Hendricks
Hall. To register for the Alumni Band Concert, please click here.
Warrensburg Community Band

Contact David Robinson, President
The first band at what is now known as the University of Central Missouri was formed
during the 1899-1900 academic year by Robert Zoll, an Instructor in Drawing. By 1904
there were two bands, and in 1909, under the direction of David W. Schlosser, the
band was playing at chapel and for basketball games. The band acquired uniforms with
navy-blue coats and hats in 1915 while R. J. Meyer was the director.
Don Essig, who established a strong reputation as a director of circus and vaudeville
bands, served as conductor from 1920 to 1941. Mr. Essig acquired a large collection
of historic musical instruments and vaudeville-style sound-producing novelty devices
such as alarm clocks, canes, and more. These are now a renowned permanent collection
housed in the Kirkpatrick Library and the Utt Music Building on UCM campus. From the
1920s-1960s, student groups toured Greater Kansas City presenting programs in high
schools and communities using these instruments.
Clifton A. Burmeister further developed UCM Bands as Director of Bands in 1945 when
many World War II veterans with strong performance skills returned to school. The
following members of the band during this period achieved state and/or national recognition:
Frank Fendorf (high school band director at Chillicothe, Vice President of Wingert-Jones
Music, Inc., Honorary Associate Member of the American Bandmasters Association); Edgar
Summerlin (composer of the first Jazz Mass which was shown nationally on NBC Television);
William [Bill] G. Mack (high school band director at Park Hill, Director of Bands
at Missouri Western University, President of Missouri Music Educators Association);
Lowell H. Brunner (high school band director at Odessa and at Lindbergh High School
in St. Louis); and Tom Price (high school band director at Cameron). Fendorf, Mack,
Brunner and Price are all elected members to the Missouri Bandmasters Association
Hall of Fame. Mack, Brunner and Price are elected members to the Missouri Music Educators
Association Hall of Fame. Further indication of the band’s excellence may be found
in the band library where compositions by Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, Felix
Mendelssohn, and similar composers were added during Burmeister’s tenure.
In 1947 the school was emerging from World War II, and the Navy training program held
on the campus during wartime was being deactivated. The college was in the process
of developing a new school spirit, and Dean I. L. Peters approached Clifton Burmeister,
Director of Bands, and told him a school fight song was needed for the football game
the next weekend. The composition, Go Mules!, was written over the weekend by Burmeister and has been adopted as the official
school fight song. Mr. Burmeister was a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, and later said that he patterned the song after the Northwestern Fight Song.
The original score is framed and is on display in the Utt Music Building Instrumental
Rehearsal Room. The current arrangement was written by David Holsinger in 1967. David
was a graduate assistant with the band and a composition major. The extended second
ending was written by Dr. Russell Coleman the same year.

The University Alma Mater was the winning entry in a 1962 contest and was composed
by William S. Stoney, a Division of Music faculty member. The words are by Carole
Grainger Gilbody, with arrangements by Dr. Russell Coleman.
The program remained relatively stable until a new era began under the leadership
of Dr. Eugene Rousseau (1962-64). The university began to experience enormous growth
and larger numbers of instrumental music majors arrived on campus.
Dr. Russell Coleman became Director of Bands in 1964. The first time a band from Central
played at a state, regional, or national event was in 1969 when the Concert Band was
invited to present a concert at the Southwestern Division Conference of the Music
Educators National Conference in St. Louis. Previously, the only off-campus concerts
by Central Bands were occasional tours to play at regional high schools. This concert established the Central Concert Band as a major ensemble at the state,
regional, and later national level. Since that time, they have been invited to present
concerts at ten MMEA programs, a second SWMENC concert, a Southwestern Division Conference
program for CBDNA, and twice at the International Convention of the American Bandmasters
Association. Nineteen members of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association
have been guest conductors with the Concert Band.

Beginning in the mid 1970s the band developed a close relationship with Frank Erickson
and Claude T. Smith, nationally recognized composers of music for the concert band.
The UCM Band recorded many of their new compositions for distribution by the Summit
Publishing Company and the Wingert-Jones Publishing Company. The band also recorded
over 150 new compositions for the Belwin Publishing Company for use in their promotions.
The Frank Erickson and Claude T. Smith Library containing their publications is housed
in the Utt Music Building.
During his tenure as Director of Bands, Dr. Coleman was elected to membership in the
prestigious American Bandmasters Association. After his retirement, he was elected
to the Missouri Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame and the Missouri Music Educators
Association Hall of Fame.
In the Spring of 2010 & 2016 the University Wind Ensemble presented concerts in Carnegie
Hall in New York City under the direction of Dr. Scott Lubaroff..
The Marching Mules gained widespread recognition through their performances at professional
sporting events. The first performance was for a Kansas City Chiefs game in 1963 and
since that time they have performed 40 times for the Chiefs at Municipal and Arrowhead
Stadiums. Their performances have been covered by ABC, CBS and NBC television. The
Marching Mules performed four times for the St. Louis Cardinals. Performances for
the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Athletics Baseball teams including the opening
game three times, the American League Championship Playoffs, and the World Series.
Graduates include numerous public school band directors, university applied music
professors, and currently five university band directors. Two graduates of the program,
Dr. David Holsinger and Dr. Gordon Ring, have been winners of prestigious national
band composition contests.
The following have served as Director of Bands:
1899-1909 Robert L. Zoll
1909-1911 David Schlosser
1911-1913 Orley H. See
1913-1918 R. J. Meyer
1918-1919 Josephine Dixon
1920-1941 Don Essig
1941-1945 Al Bleckschmidt
1945 Marion Davies
1945-1952 Clifton A. Burmeister
1952-1956 Frank W. Lidral
1956-1962 Donald O. Braatz
1962-1964 Dr. Eugene Rousseau
1964-1996 Dr. Russell Coleman
1996-2004 Dr. Patrick Casey
2004-2005 Dr. Robert Gifford, Acting Director
2005-2017 Dr. Scott Lubaroff
2017-2022 Dr. Anthony Pursell
2022-Present Dr. Corey Seapy
Submitted May 5, 2010 by:
Dr. Russell Coleman
Director of Bands (1964-1996)
Central Missouri State University
Sources of material include information found in the University Rhetor housed in the
University Kirkpatrick Library, and information provided by Frank Fendorf and Dr.
Scott Lubaroff.